leadership development | 360 feedback | competency model | self assessment | individual development plan | coaching
What You Will Learn:
- Read your own profile across five frameworks, including behaviour under stress
- Tell a competency from a skill, and state one as observable behaviour
- Build a competency profile for the role you want, not the one you have
- Design a 360 questionnaire, and recognise the bias built into the one you receive
- Read a 360 report without flinching from the parts that matter
- Assess yourself against the ten competencies companies actually train for
- Use the six levels of delegation to locate where you personally stop
- Turn assessment into an individual development plan with a balance wheel
- Recognise burnout in yourself and build a recovery strategy
- Learn alongside Mike’s 1.6 million students from 185 countries
Overview
Alright, let’s talk about ‘Leadership Self-Development: Assess, Grow and Measure’. As someone deep in the tech trenches, constantly navigating the choppy waters of project deadlines, team dynamics, and ever-evolving industry standards, I’ve always believed that leadership isn’t just about climbing the ladder; it’s about building the right foundation under your own feet. This course, from Mike, who clearly knows his audience with over 1.6 million students from 185 countries under his belt, dives right into that. It’s not your typical fluff-and-buzzword leadership training. Instead, it’s a surprisingly practical, almost surgical approach to understanding your own leadership capabilities – or lack thereof.
What really struck me was the emphasis on self-assessment against a competency model. This isn’t just about ticking boxes; it’s about understanding the difference between a hard skill (like coding in Python, which is crucial for many job-ready skills) and a soft competency. The course forces you to distinguish between the two, and crucially, identify observable behaviors for each. For instance, “delegating effectively” is a competency, and an observable behavior might be “assigning tasks with clear objectives and deadlines, and providing necessary resources.” This distinction is a game-changer for anyone preparing for certification prep or aiming for roles that demand more than just technical prowess.
The idea of building a competency profile for a *desired* role, not your current one, is pure gold. It’s about aspirational career growth, not just self-improvement. This is where the course transcends basic training and becomes a genuine tool for strategic career planning. The deep dive into 360 feedback, including how to design your own questionnaire and recognize the inherent biases in received reports, is particularly valuable. In the tech world, feedback can be blunt, and learning to process it without getting defensive is a critical career growth asset.
Prerequisites
Honestly, you don’t need a specific technical background. This is more about a mindset. However, a basic understanding of workplace dynamics and a willingness to engage in honest self-reflection are crucial. If you’re just looking for a quick fix to add a leadership badge to your LinkedIn, this isn’t it. This course demands commitment.
Skills & Tools
The primary “skill” you’ll hone is self-awareness. You’ll learn to use a competency model as a diagnostic tool, interpret 360 feedback reports, and construct an individual development plan. While the course doesn’t teach you specific industry-standard tools in the traditional sense (like a new programming language), it provides a framework for using existing tools and processes more effectively. The ability to build a competency profile and an IDP are transferable, highly sought-after skills, especially as you move into more senior or management roles. It’s about building the leadership “stack” on top of your technical foundation.
Career Benefits & Job Roles
This is where the rubber meets the road. For tech professionals, this course can be a catalyst for moving beyond individual contributor roles into team lead, project manager, engineering manager, or even senior leadership positions. Understanding your leadership strengths and weaknesses, and having a concrete plan to address the latter, makes you a far more attractive candidate. It equips you with the strategic thinking and interpersonal skills that often differentiate a good engineer from a great leader. It’s about developing the soft skills that complement your hands-on labs and technical expertise.
Pros
* **Actionable Self-Assessment:** The course provides a structured, multi-framework approach to understanding your leadership style, going far beyond superficial self-reflection. The focus on behavior under stress is particularly insightful for high-pressure tech environments.
* **Strategic Role-Based Development:** Building a competency profile for your *future* role is a brilliant strategic maneuver that empowers proactive career growth.
* **Demystifying 360 Feedback:** The training on designing questionnaires and critically analyzing reports is invaluable for navigating organizational politics and truly leveraging feedback.
* **Burnout Prevention:** The inclusion of recognizing burnout and developing recovery strategies is a forward-thinking and essential component for long-term sustainability in demanding careers.
Cons
* **Requires Active Engagement:** This isn’t a passive watch-and-learn course. You *must* actively participate in the self-assessment, the IDP creation, and the feedback analysis. If you’re looking for a quick certification without putting in the work, this isn’t for you. It demands introspection, which can be uncomfortable for some.